Abstract
Esthetic preference for vertical and horizontal rectangles was tested. The study was stimulated by renewed interest in television screen aspect ratios. Previous work by Schiffman (1966, 1969, 1978) on rectangle orientation had resulted in contradictory findings. In the present study, pairs of slides of identical solid-colored rectangles that varied only in horizontal or vertical orientation were embedded in a larger protocol of similar slide pairs and presented to 183 male and female undergraduate volunteers. Other slide stimuli were also presented and tested for preference and self-reports of relaxation upon viewing. The findings demonstrate no evidence of any predisposition toward a preference for one orientation over the other.
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Kubey, R.W., Barnett, A.L. Esthetic preference for rectangles of vertical and horizontal orientation. Bull. Psychon. Soc. 27, 239–240 (1989). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03334595
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03334595
Keywords
- Test Stimulus
- Vertical Orientation
- Golden Section
- Horizontal Orientation
- Esthetic Preference